BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Birmingham school Superintendent Craig Witherspoon introduced a plan to a receptive Ensley community this evening that calls for closing Councill Elementary and Bush Middle schools and building a new kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school in its place.

The new school would accommodate about 700 to 750 students and would be built on the Bush Middle School and former Ensley High School properties, which combined make about 13 acres, Witherspoon said.

The middle school grades would also become a magnet school, he said, similar to ones at Christian K-8 and Phillips Academy.

If approved by the Board of Education, the new school would open in fall 2014.

"We've been talking about this for the last three years, and I'm pleased tonight. I guess I've converted to what we need to do for our kids," said George McCall, president of the Ensley Neighborhood Association. "Right now we could have a brand-new school had we done what was right three years ago."

What to do with Councill Elementary and Bush Middle School has been up for debate for more than three years. Both schools are in the capital improvement plan for major renovations, but as the city school system's enrollment continues to decline, plans to renovate them were put on hold and discussions of whether to merge the two took over.

Both schools were built in 1928, said Bob Morgan, director of capital projects for Birmingham city schools. The system's capital improvement plan calls for $16.2 million of renovations to the two schools, with a $7.3 million construction budget for Bush and $8.9 million for Councill.

The new school likely would cost about $18 million, Morgan said.

Witherspoon said he was happy with how the meeting went and said he planned to ask the board to approve the plans soon.

"We've been working on this for three years, so I think it's significant we are able to move forward," he said. "There certainly seems to be a real consensus."

LeSean Dial-Ameyme, a parent at Bush Middle School, said a new school will only make the Ensley community better.

"Some people are still afraid when they drive through here, but it's changing," she said. "I think the new plans are outstanding and it's like a makeover for the community."